Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I like Charles.

263 replies

malificent7 · 10/09/2022 10:04

He's into environmental issues, wants a slimmed down monarchy, embraces multiculturalism and his speech was warm and heartfelt.
He shook hands with the crowds outside the palace with genuine emotion.
I am not sure how i feel about how he treated Diana but he should always have married Camilla.

OP posts:
Maireas · 10/09/2022 13:01

MsMiaWallace · 10/09/2022 13:00

I thought that Charles appeared more nervous about the inkwell bits. His face read more of a 'help!' to me.

Me too! I thought he felt a bit nervous about an ink incident.

Zott · 10/09/2022 13:01

I like Charles and Camilla.

MrsLargeEmbodied · 10/09/2022 13:01

pompomdaisy · 10/09/2022 12:50

I liked seeing how his grandchildren want to sit on his knee. He must be a nice grandpa.

yes, he does seem to have a great rapport with his grandchildren,

MarshaBradyo · 10/09/2022 13:02

Lunaduckdrop · 10/09/2022 12:44

If being monarch is an important job, I feel that 70 is too old to be starting it. I would have preferred that he stood aside in favour of William.

I’m relieved this didn’t happen, I prefer Charles atm as King

NanaNelly · 10/09/2022 13:05

MsMiaWallace · 10/09/2022 13:00

I thought that Charles appeared more nervous about the inkwell bits. His face read more of a 'help!' to me.

Yes. It was unfortunate that such an historical occasion was marred ever so slightly by a table being to small.

GrumpyPanda · 10/09/2022 13:06

His black spider memos to all and sundry in government are a huge red flag. He's abused his position to promote homeopathic quackery and pushed his philistine views on architecture to the extent of getting the results of an actual design competition canceled. He may mean well but has a history of being rather out of line.

spanieleyes · 10/09/2022 13:11

Good, I quite like the idea of a King who is a bit out of line!

Toddlerteaplease · 10/09/2022 13:12

Me too. And I like Camilla

MarshaMelrose · 10/09/2022 13:14

People might want William to be king, but does William want to be yet? With young children, maybe he doesn't want a job that is all consuming.

MarshaMelrose · 10/09/2022 13:18

Good, I quite like the idea of a King who is a bit out of line!

Me too. He's only done anything intending it for the good and he's conveyed concerns of the people he meets during his engagements to the government of the day. That sounds like someone who loves his country and wants the best for people who live there.

Maireas · 10/09/2022 13:22

MarshaMelrose · 10/09/2022 13:14

People might want William to be king, but does William want to be yet? With young children, maybe he doesn't want a job that is all consuming.

Good points. Plus, I always think it's ageism at work, some people think all the over 60s want to do is sit in an arm chair.

Hlglu56 · 10/09/2022 13:22

I’ve just read Miram Margoyles autobiography and she has a small piece about him that made him comes across as a decent, warm man. Of course his activism will all change now as he takes on a completely different role but I am sure he will be a fine king.

Dylanesque · 10/09/2022 13:24

The kindest thing one can say about someone who maintained a personal relationship with Jimmy Savile for 20 years is that they have piss-poor judgement

Rainbowqueeen · 10/09/2022 13:28

I like him too. I think he is genuine and family oriented. I also think he is a product of his upbringing and environment (as we all are).

I think he will be a good king.

readingatdawn · 10/09/2022 13:29

I know people think comments on his age are 'ageist', but I think it's a relevant point.

He says he wants to 'modernise' the monarchy, I'm not sure how he plans on doing that. We all know young people don't like the concept of a monarchy, so how is an almost 74 year old king going to help 'modernise' anything? That's what I'm wondering.

jetadore · 10/09/2022 13:31

Christ, you’ve all been brainwashed. A king that’s “out of line”? The “line” exists to keep the likes of us out and preserve the position and privilege of our ‘betters’, not to keep them “in line”. One of them’s a nonce ffs!

BeBraveLittlePenguin · 10/09/2022 13:31

I like Charles, don't give a stuff how he was with Diana, which none of us know anyway, and think Camilla will do a cracking job.

thecatsthecats · 10/09/2022 13:45

jetadore · 10/09/2022 13:31

Christ, you’ve all been brainwashed. A king that’s “out of line”? The “line” exists to keep the likes of us out and preserve the position and privilege of our ‘betters’, not to keep them “in line”. One of them’s a nonce ffs!

I haven't been brainwashed at all. But I do have a very different perspective on the mechanisms of rule and society, which would be far, far too long to detail here, even supposing that they were of interest.

I am a historian, and writer of historic fantasy fiction - I'd say that I have probably thought about these things more than most people, certainly more than is normal.

But I am also able to separate all that over thinking and philosophising enough to make a simple, human statement such as "I like Charles". And of all the thoughts that I have, I will share these two:

  • I am profoundly greatful for the peaceful and immediate transition of power had taken place just after Boris Johnson has left power. I would not put it remotely past him to have attempted a seizure or undermining of an elected power, a la Trump.
  • I think that people who blithely welcome the idea of revolution are disgustingly naive as to the pain and suffering that revolutions cause. And that they never bring peace and prosperity to those they claim to support.
greenhousegal · 10/09/2022 13:45

Just like celebrities (ugh), the RF and the King are caricatures that are carefully curated to ensure our mostly positive scrutiny. We only see them waving and smiling, shaking hands and making speeches. Full TV make up, dressers, diction/elocution/speech delivery training, the works!

You either like the image of the King and consort or you are a bit starstruck really. They are playing a role as they must, but they are not our friends by any stretch of the imagination, and I neither like nor dislike them. I don't know them in their ordinary clothes with their shoes off and jogpants on after a hard day, so I can't really say I like them can I?

We are never going to see the real RF.

I do acknowledge their sadness at the loss of the much loved Queen though. But when that's over, what then?

nokidshere · 10/09/2022 13:45

I just find it all laughable that people think they have even the tiniest inkling about what goes on in other peoples families, especially one that's fuelled by the media each with their own agendas.

No one outside of the people who where there knows who did what, where, when and to whom. We each take our stance from whichever news reports we choose to believe, and even then it's still speculation.

King Charles seems like an ok guy, he's human like the rest of us, has made mistakes, most of us don't have to pay for those mistakes for the rest of our lives. I don't really care if we have a royal family or not but only time will tell if he does some good or not.

As for having friends/family who are revolting, peodophiles, narcissistic, bullies or a hundred other types of unacceptable or criminal behaviour it's truly amazing how many of us also have them in our lives, whether we know or not.

Maireas · 10/09/2022 13:47

readingatdawn · 10/09/2022 13:29

I know people think comments on his age are 'ageist', but I think it's a relevant point.

He says he wants to 'modernise' the monarchy, I'm not sure how he plans on doing that. We all know young people don't like the concept of a monarchy, so how is an almost 74 year old king going to help 'modernise' anything? That's what I'm wondering.

74 is not ancient or decrepit. If you keep your mind alert and keep yourself informed, if you have years of experience and work you will perform better than a young person whose only advantage is that they'll look better on TV.

Novella4 · 10/09/2022 14:02

@thecatsthecats
Who said we want a revolution?

A bloody vote would be nice
But as you must know they act immediately to set the next one up - mustn't let little people stop and think.
It's protocol you know!

InternetRandom · 10/09/2022 14:05

Maireas · 10/09/2022 13:01

Me too! I thought he felt a bit nervous about an ink incident.

Show quote history

Yes, he made the 😬 face when it looked like the ink/pen set might get shunted off the end. The desk was a wee bit small for large pieces of paper! No one wants an ink incident on day 2 😃

I would have expected a staff member to come and move it, in the same way I would expect the ball girls and boys at Wimbledon to pick up balls out of play, rather than saying 'why doesn't Andy Murray go and pick it up himself?'

SherbetDips · 10/09/2022 14:06

Me too, I’ve always like Charles and Camilla.

thecatsthecats · 10/09/2022 14:09

Novella4 · 10/09/2022 14:02

@thecatsthecats
Who said we want a revolution?

A bloody vote would be nice
But as you must know they act immediately to set the next one up - mustn't let little people stop and think.
It's protocol you know!

Many people express that sentiment. I'm not making it up, but neither am I going to trawl around for examples for you.

Nothing is worse for the "little people" than people seeking power. Left, right, it doesn't matter - nor if that power is delivered by a vote. It always, always, involves some sector of the "little people" getting trampled on. And so the cycle continues.

I'm not a monarchist - my world vision involves nothing near to any form of power. But in the world that we live in, I do not believe that it is possible to deliver a regime change without some other set of bastards getting in power.